BAKU (AP)–The US plans to step up its efforts to help solve a dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave–officials said Thursday.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright promised the help when she called Azeri President Haydar Aliyev to discuss the issue–Aliyev’s press service said. Aliyev is in the US–recovering after heart bypass surgery.
Albright told the Azeri president that the US government wants to expand relations with Azerbaijan and plans to mediate more actively in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict–the press service said.
Albright met with Aliyev and Armenian president Robert Kocharian during NATO’s 50th anniversary celebrations in Washington last month in an attempt to get a final agreement–US officials said.